This Creamy Leek Chicken with Dill Cream Sauce is the kind of one-pan dinner that looks and tastes like you really tried, and comes together in about 45 minutes on a weeknight. Golden pan-seared chicken breasts nestle into the silkiest sauce built from buttery leeks, garlic, white wine, lemon, and a big handful of fresh dill, then finished with a cold pat of butter that makes the whole thing glossy and rich. It's bright, buttery, herby, and deeply savory all at once. The sauce is so good you'll be tempted to pour it over everything on your plate. 🤤
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🧈 Disclosure: This post is a paid partnership with Plugrà Premium European Style Butter, the official butter partner for A Full Living for 2026! Plugrà's higher butterfat is what gives this sauce its silky, restaurant-quality finish, and a cold butter swirl at the end makes all the difference. 😍 As always, all opinions are our own.
This Chicken and Leek Recipe Tastes Like You Tried Way Harder Than You Did😉
Leeks and dill have a way of showing up in so many of my recipes. I have Nordic heritage and spent a year as an exchange student in Norway in high school, so I think I just crave these flavors by default. 😂
The leeks melt down into something silky and almost sweet, dill keeps everything bright, and together in a buttery cream sauce with garlic, white wine, and lemon? It's one of those combinations that just really works. One pan, stovetop start to finish, and easy enough for a weeknight. Chamere woke up the next morning wanting it for breakfast, which honestly says everything you need to know. 🤤
Serve it over egg noodles or mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie sides!
🧅 Ingredients for This Lemon Dill Chicken with Leeks
Simple ingredients, nothing fussy, good butter, fresh leeks, and a handful of dill bring all the flavor.
How to Make Creamy Leek and Chicken ✨
All you need is one pan and about 45 minutes. Let's get into it!
- Step 1: Pat your chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Rub them all over with oil, then season generously with kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried dill.
🧂 We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt - about 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken. If you're using Morton's or table salt, cut that amount in half.
- Step 2: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Work in batches if needed; crowding the pan means steaming, not searing.
Cook without moving it for 4-5 minutes, until a deep golden crust develops.
💡 Patience here is everything. Don't nudge or move the chicken - just let it sit. That's what builds the crust. It'll release naturally from the pan when it's ready.
- Step 3: Flip and cook through. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, add Plugrà butter directly to the pan. As it melts and foams, tilt the pan slightly and spoon the butter continuously over the chicken. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
💡 Butter goes in at the end rather than the beginning for a reason - adding it to a screaming hot pan at the start would burn it before the chicken even develops a crust. Letting the chicken cook first in oil, then basting with butter in those last couple of minutes, gives you all the richness without the bitterness.
🌡️ Check the temp: Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure they've reached 165°F internally.
- Step 4: Add the remaining butter to the same pan over medium heat.
- Step 5: Once melted, add the sliced leeks and season with salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes until softened, silky, and just starting to turn golden at the edges.
🧅 For this recipe, use only the white and light green parts - the dark green tops are too tough for a quick cream sauce. After slicing, drop the rounds into a bowl of cold water, give them a swish, and scoop them out from the top. Grit and sand sink to the bottom. (Our Leek Pasta has step-by-step photos of the whole process if you want a visual!)
- Step 6: Add the flour and garlic at the same time and stir to combine. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
💡The flour coats the butter-slicked leeks before any liquid goes in, which is what keeps the cream sauce silky and stable instead of greasy. Don't skip this step!
- Step 7: Pour in the white wine and scrape up any golden bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble and reduce by about half, 2-3 minutes.
🍷 Make sure the wine actually reduces. Undercooked wine is the most common reason a cream sauce tastes off or bitter. You want to make sure the alcohol is mostly cooked off before anything else goes in. No wine? Swap in equal parts chicken broth plus a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- Step 8: Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the heavy cream and let everything warm through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Step 9: Stir in the fresh dill, black pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Step 10: Pull the pan off the heat and add the cold butter one tablespoon at a time, swirling until each pat is fully melted before adding the next.
🧈 Cold butter, off the heat. This is what gives the sauce that glossy, restaurant-quality finish. If the pan is too hot, the butter breaks into grease instead of emulsifying into the sauce - so pull it off the burner first.
- Step 11: Nestle the chicken back into the sauce.
Slice the chicken, and dig in!
What to Serve With Creamy Leek Chicken🍽️
This chicken is begging for something to soak up that sauce. We love it over buttered egg noodles or buttermilk mashed potatoes with sautéed lemon butter sugar snap peas, stovetop buttery glazed carrots, or brown butter roasted radishes, all pair beautifully and keep things feeling fresh but also cozy and cohesive.
Any seasonal vegetables you like will go really well. This pan-fried lemon garlic butter asparagus would also pair beautifully in the springtime!
🌟Leave a Review!
If you make this Creamy Chicken Leek Recipe, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below with your rating for the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸
📖 Recipe
Creamy Leek Chicken Recipe with Lemon Dill Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons oil any neutral oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon Diamond crystal salt per pound, see notes
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter
Creamy leek dill and lemon sauce
- 3 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter
- 3 leeks white and light green parts only, sliced into rounds and cleaned
- ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 12 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 15g
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1¼ cups chicken stock
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest zest of 1 lemon
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice juice from about half a lemon
- ¼ cup fresh dill roughly chopped
- ¼-½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter cold and cubed
Instructions
Sear the chicken
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Rub all over with 1 tablespoon oil, reserving the rest for the skillet, then season evenly with kosher salt, dried dill, garlic powder, and onion powder.2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon dried dill, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining oil, and the chicken and sear without moving for 4-5 minutes, until a deep golden crust develops.
- Add butter and baste the tops of the chicken as it finishes. Flip and sear for another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.2 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter
Build the sauce
- Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the same pan. Add the sliced leeks and season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until completely soft and silky, about 5-6 minutes.3 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter, 3 leeks, ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the garlic and flour at the same time and stir to coat evenly. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.12 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let reduce by half, about 2 minutes.½ cup dry white wine
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and lemon zest. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5-6 minutes.1¼ cups chicken stock, ¾ cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Stir in the fresh dill, black pepper, and lemon juice.1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup fresh dill, ¼-½ teaspoon black pepper
- Remove from heat and swirl in the cold butter one tablespoon at a time until melted, and the sauce is glossy. Taste and adjust salt as needed.3 tablespoons Plugrà unsalted European-style butter
Finish and serve
- Nestle the chicken back into the sauce and spoon it generously over the top. Let rest 2-3 minutes to warm through. Slice and serve over buttered egg noodles or buttermilk mashed potatoes, garnished with extra fresh dill.
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Notes
- Salt: This recipe is written for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using Morton's, reduce to 1 teaspoon for the chicken.
- Don't rush the sear: Leave the chicken undisturbed for at least 4-5 minutes - it will release from the pan naturally when the crust is ready.
- Reduce the wine fully: Let it reduce by at least half before adding broth - this is the most important step for avoiding any bitterness in the sauce.
- No wine? Substitute equal amount of chicken broth + a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- Cleaning leeks: After slicing, submerge in cold water, swish, and lift out - grit sinks to the bottom. See our Leek Pasta for step-by-step photos of the process.
- Cold butter finish: Don't skip it - that final swirl of cold Plugrà off the heat is what makes the sauce silky and glossy.
- Gluten-free: Skip the flour roux and simmer the sauce a few extra minutes to reduce naturally, or use a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon cold water) stirred in at the end.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of broth to loosen the sauce.
Joel says
It's always difficult to find dishes that the kids won't turn their noses up at but you manage to do it pretty regularly, so, a huge thanks for this one!
I've only been able to get them to eat leeks by sneaking them past in a leek & potato cream soup (every season is soup season in Scotland) but this should work with the cream sauce and served on egg noodles. Pretty much spot on for this clan and extra bonus points for the one pan approach!
From a dad that does the cooking, well done!
Briana says
This made our whole day...thank you so much!! 🥹 We love that you're planning to try it on egg noodles with the cream sauce. Can't decide which we like better sometimes, it's so yummy either way. Really hope the whole clan loves it. Please come back and let me know how it goes, and greetings from Briana & Chamere in Michigan to Scotland!
Joel says
So, I made it and it disappeared so fast. I served it on egg noodles because I've got the only 10-year-old on the planet who doesn't like mashed potatoes. (Though, recently I LOADED them with creme fraiche, butter, chives and just a bit of parmesan and he said, "this could work." 😀 ) And, our leeks were Schwarzenneger-sized so I reduced those to two, as the size of those things would have overwhelmed the pan. That sauce is outstanding!
Anyway, a huge hit and a huge thanks.
And, in response to today's email: in our garden, just the rosemary, bay leaf, dill, and mint coming back to life so far. Growing vegetables in Scotland is not for the faint-hearted!
Briana says
Joel!! This update absolutely made my day, again! 🥹 The image of Schwarzenegger leeks living it up in Scotland is so hilarious! Great call on reducing to two!
And a 10-year-old who turns down mashed potatoes but greenlights the creme fraiche/butter/chives/parm version? An absolute connoisseur. He knows what's up.
So glad it disappeared fast, truly the highest compliment. And good luck with the herbs you've got growing! Bay leaf is something I need to add to "to go" list. Growing in Scotland definitely sounds like it builds character. Sending love from Michigan! 💚